education

"For the solid-state lighting (SSL) market to grow, consumers must have confidence that the products they buy are well designed and perform to their expectations. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), LED Lighting Facts is a voluntary pledge program to assure that LED lighting products are represented accurately in the market. Participants pledge to use the LED Lighting Facts label to document the performance of products they manufacture, sell, distribute, or promote.

Similar to a nutrition label, the LED Lighting Facts label provides a quick summary of product performance data. By introducing transparency to the lighting supply chain, the label guards against exaggerated claims and helps ensure a satisfactory experience for lighting buyers. Luminaire manufacturers who take the pledge agree to use the label to disclose performance results in five areas—lumens, efficacy, watts, correlated color temperature (CCT), and color rendering index (CRI)—as measured by the industry standard for testing photometric performance, IES LM-79-2008."

A big reason the Department of Energy is trying to ensure quality LED lighting products is due to a lack of consumer adoption around CFL lights, which is partly blamed on poor quality in the early stages of that technology.

One of the most helpful features on the website is the LED product search tool, that allows users to search for an LED based on the criteria needed for their home.

You may be thinking that Lighting Facts (Department of Energy) sounds very similar to Energy Star for Light Bulbs (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency). It is similar, but differs in that it is a little more specific and only focuses on LED bulbs and fixtures. A good explanation is on the Lighting Facts page:

Q:

Isn’t this the sort of thing ENERGY STAR® usually covers?

A:

While the LED Lighting Facts label and ENERGY STAR both make energy-efficient purchasing decisions easier and more transparent, the programs operate in different ways:

ENERGY STAR was designed with consumers in mind. It sets a minimum performance level for qualifying products to help you choose the most efficient products. The ENERGY STAR label can be applied only to a limited group of LED lighting products.

The LED Lighting Facts label is an industry tool to help retailers and other buyers choose wisely. It provides essential information to evaluate product performance against manufacturer claims. Armed with this information, retailers and other industry stakeholders can keep poorly performing products from reaching their shelves. The LED Lighting Facts label can be applied to any LED product for general illumination.